– ‘Mist of blood’ –
As the audience filed into the 12,500-seat Wembley Arena, which often hosts global music stars, they were serenaded by pro-Remain demonstrators singing “All You Need is Love”.
Organisers Avaaz said the serenade was an attempt to counter the “fear and division” of the campaign.
But the two sides remained deeply opposed and the audience split among equally vocal “Remain” and “Leave” crowds.
“It felt like a football atmosphere… it felt very hostile. You could tell there was almost a mist of blood in the air,” said Michael Flaxington, 21, a student from Kent.
Retiree Linda Mayne, 60, also from Kent, said the debate was well-argued on both sides but had not swayed her from her conviction to vote “Leave”.
“I support Leave because I want the UK to have our own democracy back, to be able to control ourselves,” Mayne said.
But 21-year-old student Anton Georgiou said the Leave side’s “take back control argument” was “an empty slogan with no detailed plan whatsoever”.
As the debate concluded, the Daily Mail newspaper announced it was endorsing Brexit.
“Lies. Greedy elites. Or a great future outside a broken, dying Europe,” read its front page. “If you believe in Britain vote Leave.”
Two newspapers, the Daily Express and The Sun, carried front-page stories reporting that Queen Elizabeth II was challenging guests to give her “three good reasons” why Britain should stay in the EU.
Earlier this year, Buckingham Palace issued a rare complaint over a previous article by The Sun that claimed the queen favoured Brexit, a challenge to the monarch’s long-held position of political neutrality.
The Times, which has backed Britain remaining in the EU, published a warning from hundreds of business leaders, including Virgin boss Richard Branson and US media mogul Michael Bloomberg, warning that Brexit could cause an “economic shock”.
